Character Committees

As you read Act 4, focus on the character you are assigned (Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia, or Laertes) and respond to the questions listed below in your log. Lesson after next, you will meet with other students who studied the same character to prepare a five-minute presentation on your character that you will present the next day. This presentation should be informative and insightful. You may use any format that appeals to your group as long as your presentation includes the information asked for in the following questions. As usual, any conclusions you draw must be supported with textual references. Remember that the answers to the questions will provide you only with the raw data for your presentation. Your job as a group is to assemble the data into an interesting and informative presentation.

Character questions for characters 1: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. What new information did you learn about your character in Act 4 that would help an actor or actress understand him or her better? In each scene where your character appears, what is his or her motivation and objective? In other words, what does he or she really want? (Sometimes this will be difficult or impossible to determine.) How does your character feel about the evens in Act 4? About Hamlet? What questions are raised by your characters words and/or behavior in this act? What questions that youve previously had are answered by your characters words and/or behavior in this act? What do other characters say about your character and how do they react to him or her? How does your character feel about other characters? How does your character affect the events of each scene in which he or she appears? How is he or she affected by the events of each scene in which he or she appears? How is your character important to this act? In other words, do you learn something new about the plot through him or her? Do you gain any insights about Hamlet by comparing/contrasting him to your character? What questions are raised by your characters words and/or behavior in this act? What questions that youve previously had are answered by your characters words and/or behavior in this act?

Your Character: ___________________________________________ Your Committee: _________________________________________ __________________________________________

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